McGrath: Justice delayed is justice denied

The cornerstone of any democracy is an effective, reliable and fair legal system which promotes the rule of law. Fundamental to the rule of law is the right of timely access to an independent, properly resourced court.

Because Alberta is undergoing the most rapid population growth of any province, the Court of Queen’s Bench has experienced an enormous increase in the demand for judicial services, however, appointments and related funding have largely been non‑existent. Given the federal government’s inaction, the Court of Queen’s Bench has been forced to take a number of steps to reduce the services it provides. Even so, the justices of Court of Queen’s Bench are still working far beyond their capacity and the court is now facing a crisis arising from a lack of judicial appointments and related funding despite ongoing requests for an increase to the judicial complement of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

Because of the lack of judicial resources, a number of very negative societal effects have and continue to occur, including delays in criminal matters (which can result in the stay of prosecution of accused parties charged with serious criminal offences, which appears to be entirely inconsistent with the federal government’s tougher stance on maintaining law and order). Family law matters involving the welfare of children are being delayed to the prejudice of those children, and commercial disputes are being substantially delayed, which adds costs and uncertainty to the economic drivers of the economy.

Whether litigation involves family matters, business issues or other important matters, Albertans need to be confident that the legal system is there for them and they will have the benefit of a reasonably prompt resolution to disputes.If delay and costs become too great, many will just give up on justice.

Since Alberta has been the economic engine of Canada for many years, and contributes billions of dollars in transfer payments (according to an Alberta Finance report released in 2011, Albertans paid $18.9 billion more to the federal government than they got back), it is difficult to understand why Alberta dramatically lags behind other provinces in appointments and funding to the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Whether large or small, companies also need timely and efficient resolution of commercial disputes.The impartial enforcement of rights, including the enforcement of contracts, is fundamental to economic prosperity, security and the development of robust markets.It must be remembered that the Court of Queen’s Bench not only serves Calgary and Edmonton, but a plethora of other judicial districts, including Fort McMurray, where the population has more than tripled since 1996.

The reputation of Alberta as being a business‑oriented culture and one where businesses want to invest in is in jeopardy if companies see that it takes many more years, and many more thousands of dollars, to litigate in Alberta than elsewhere.

In 2008, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta requested an additional four judicial positions (the first expansion since 1996), and it was not until this June that the federal government amended the Judges Act to fund salaries for only two of the four requested positions.

Taking into consideration the ratio between population and the number of superior court justices to that of British Columbia, for example, an additional 12 new judicial positions would be required for the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench to simply have parity.Alberta has, and continues to have, the least amount of Court of Queen’s Bench justices per capita.While the provincial government, including Justice Minister Jonathan Denis, has been supportive of appointing more Court of Queen’s Bench justices, that enthusiasm and support does not seem to be shared within the federal government or, at a minimum, the silence on that topic has been deafening.

The federal government should take immediate action to increase the judicial complement of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.The current significant shortfall of justices is severely restricting access to justice, prejudicing Albertans and undermining Alberta’s economic growth.

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